In need of extra goalkeeping options in January 2024, Boro’ turned to Craig MacGillivray; a stopper with no shortage of experience. At that point in time, Taye Ashby-Hammond had very much established himself as our number one. But the return of loanee Krisztián Hegyi to parent club West Ham United left us with only youth players as cover. While that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, gaffer Steve Evans clearly thought our chances of staying in the 2023-4 League One promotion race were such that we needed extra senior support between the sticks.
By bringing in MacGillivray from MK Dons on loan, we definitely upped our know-how in the goalkeeping department. In the first instance, he came in as number two. But he managed to force his way past Ashby-Hammond on occasion – not least when the number one picked up an injury. It was a possibility always open to the boss: “Craig is an experienced goalkeeper who will give Taye a great battle for the shirt. To have two first-choice goalkeepers was our target and now we have that,” he told the Stevenage official site upon MacGillivray’s arrival at the Lamex Stadium.
Craig MacGillivray: Before Boro’
A native of Perth north of the border, MacGillivray actually started his odyssey in North Yorkshire with Harrogate Railway Athletic. He quickly earned moves to Stalybridge Celtic and then Harrogate Town; the latter loaning him back to his first club in a show of what we presume was local altruism. It’s not that he didn’t make the grade at Town. In fact, he made a ton of appearances for the club in their pre-Football League guise. And he made such an impression that a move up into the Football League came about in summer 2014 when he joined Walsall.
It was the first stop in a journey around the Football League that saw MacGillivray enjoy mixed fortunes. At the Saddlers and then Shrewsbury Town, he didn’t find first team opportunities easy to come by. But a summer 2018 switch down to Portsmouth refreshed his career; the stopper accumulating more than 100 appearances over a three-year period. After his time at Fratton Park, the player joined Charlton Athletic – then Burton Albion and MK Dons. In 2019, there was even an international call-up to the Scotland squad. No cap was forthcoming, however.
